5/12/16 To friends, donors, supporters, and volunteers with Recovering from Religion

5/12/16

To friends, donors, supporters, and volunteers with Recovering from Religion

As most of you are aware, there has been a tremendous controversy in the secular movement that has involved RfR. From the beginning, RfR has tried to balance our legal requirement for confidentiality with our desire for complete transparency. It has been much more difficult to find that balance than we ever thought possible.

Much has been said about the existence of Non-Disclosure Agreements. In the professional world, NDAs serve a valuable purpose, often to protect information, sometimes as a negotiating tool, and sometimes simply as leverage or assurance that all parties refrain from disparaging the other. In a minority of cases, even discussing the existence of the NDA is a violation of the NDA. RfR is restricted by such an agreement. In order to err on the side of caution, RfR has opted to conform to non-disclosure to the highest degree. RfR is pursuing with vigor, however, every possible alternative legal option for the resolution of the issue covered by the Non-Disclosure Agreement. Whether that information ever becomes available will be a decision for the courts to make.

However, there has been a secondary, related issue that has arisen which is not covered by such an agreement. It involves a contractual dispute with a contractor, the terms of the contract, and the terms of the payment. RfR has a commitment to follow the proper legal channels for the resolution of this contractual dispute. Because of the nature of the legal process, this resolution may take up to 18 months, and while we have no intention of signing any non-disclosure agreement at that proceeding, we may be otherwise legally bound to keep the results of the judgment confidential.

Because of the length of time until resolution, because the results may have to be kept confidential, because the community is so divided on this, because we feel the community should be informed, and because of our commitment to transparency, RfR has done the following:

We have approached a reputable blogger in the community, known for his high standard of investigatory excellence, and have asked him to investigate this issue. We are committed to opening any and all documents, up to and including internal documents, screenshots, emails, timelines, tweets, texts, and login information so that this investigation can occur. We will cooperate to the limit of our restriction of non-disclosure, and each of us will make ourselves available for personal interviews and statements.

It is our hope that this can help to calm the rhetoric and inflamed passions that have been aroused, and to allow RfR to return its attention to the important work it undertakes providing help to those needing a little assistance on their journey through and out of religion.